Quadrotors (& Our Site’s Back)!

bengizmo — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:13:43 +0000

It’s been a while since i’ve updated the blog section of our site, mostly because our site was down and we’ve been extremely busy with events and projects. On the website side of things, we’ve migrated to a new server and rebuilt the whole thing from scratch as the database on the old server kept getting corrupted. There are still a few features that need to be added, but the majority of functionality has been restored by a few hardworking members

A special guest came down to Protospace for Meet&Geek this week to show off his airborne projects! We took a field trip out to the soccer pitch near the space where there was lots of room to fly around the two carbon-fiber quadrotors. Check out the Youtube video for the drones in action!

Also, the Western Canadian Robot Games are being held this Saturday at 10AM to 3PM at the Aerospace Museum of Calgary. Admission to the games is done through buying day pass to the Museum. More details here!

Our First Open House (At The New Space)

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:56:02 +0000

Protospace’s first open house was held at the new space last night and was a blast! The public was welcome to come hang out and discover who we are. We also has the parts and tools available for attendies to hack their Halloween costumes, followed by fantastic live music by some local artists.

Our primary goal was to provide people with the tools and resources to add electronics to their Halloween costumes. I did a last minute shop at Solarbotics on Friday to grab LEDs, Ardweenys, conductive thread, and some LilyPad components, which we sold during the event. We still have a lot of these parts for sale at the space, so come down on tuesday and start something new.

As usual, I spent most of the night meeting people and making sure everyone felt welcome. It was so busy that I didn’t have time to hack my own costume (which I still haven’t started). Fortunately, there were a few guests that hacked away at their costumes with Lilypad components and EL-wire, which included some interesting Minecraft mods.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6273841902_a0fdce9ceb_o.jpg&h=140&w=283&zc=1

Lilypad systems are designed for clothing, and they’re washable!

LilyPad + conductive thread = costume win
At Protospace, we give our Creepers a healthy green glow!

Food and drink was plentiful, but with a twist! Shannon brought his vaccum syphon coffee pot, Donna made marshmallows from scratch and Brian made cotton candy.

Best coffee you’ll ever drink!
Cotton candy – you’re doing it right.

Refreshment station
Shannon must be saying something smart – I look impressed.

On top of the halloween hacking, Colin & Brian were able to get our CNC software working with our MAXNC 10 machine. It’s a bit slow because it’s an older mill, but it’s a capable machine that will work until we get ourselves a Sherline. We’re also getting pretty close to finishing our Evil Mad Scientist Drinkbot machine; only the electronics and test tube calibration is left! Other projects throughout the night included more BrutusBot construction, work on the RFID access system and a sign hack to help people find us.

Later in the evening, the event evolved into a bit of a party when our invited DJs arrived. Adam Tindale, an instructor at ACAD, brought down his laptop and a few friends / students to perform some epic beats that they mixed live for our listening pleasure!

That he is! (Mixing)
Adam Tindale

I’m a huge fan of electronica, house and experimental music, thus I thoroughly enjoyed their tag-team performances that went on until midnight. The crowd wasn’t huge, but Adam wasn’t deterred and put on an awesome show.
Some ambient & experimental beats
Everyone loved the set up

Here’s the line up of musicians that were performing last night:

Adam Tindale – Ambient
Greg Debicki (aka Woulg) – Experimental Dubstep
Jesse Altura – Glitch Techno
James Carigan (aka Glyph) – Tech House

Protophotos from the event!

Proto-merch table
Travis’ door hacking

Foosball for DJs
Mike & Valerie

Leah for Dorkbot doing the creep!
Our near-finished drinkbot!

Going to mount this above our door outside.
Our new sandwich board, still needs some work.

You Are Creative

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:29:58 +0000

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

~ Albert Einstein

The human mind is a fascinating device, allowing us to store a near limitless supply of information while processing countless stimuli every minute of every day. Though the processing power alone is staggering, the underlying attribute that will always drive us forward as individuals and as a society is our minds’ creative capacity.

The world is waking up to this creative potential – emerging from a dream-like existence where our imagination was brushed under the rug. We were never meant to become drones in the endless assembly line that manufactures happiness for $1.49, or to abandon our creative pursuits in exchange for the shackles of an economically viable yet unrewarding career.

We are creators, builders, collaborators, makers, tinkerers and dreamers – we have been since the beginning of time and will continue to be until the end of the universe as we know it.

You are creative. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different.

You are neither left brained nor right brained. You do not have to listen to the naysayers that speak so loudly in your ear, instead pay attention to that voice inside that inspires you to become more than you are. Harnessing your creative and imaginative potential will bring you more satisfaction than the pursuit of knowledge, and when you pair the two together you will never encounter boredom.

Protospace manifested through the creative drive of a few imaginative Calgarians who wanted more than just an existence in this city. Since our inspired beginnings, we have evolved into a community workshop that exists to facilitate member projects and ideas. Ideas are always improved upon when more minds are introduced, which is why we always encourage collaboration and the openness of information at Protospace. Though Calgary’s only hacker / maker space, we’re only one node in the vast network of the creative community. In Calgary alone there are hundreds of groups and collectives that range from permaculture to musical theatre, all of which came into existence because we recognize the importance of community and culture. Through a bit of Googling, you will find that your local community is full of culture and like minded individuals - and if you don’t find a group that fits you, make one.

Though our creative and imaginative pursuits are valuable, a lack of resources often stops us from making our ideas into reality. Since alchemy and transmutation are not yet available to the general public, we must use currency to fund our projects and initiatives. Fortunately for us, there have been many creative and enterprising individuals that have established foundations or funding opportunities that help us bridge the resource gap. Below I’ve listed a few of the examples that I’ve had exposure to, but these aren’t the only options available to you.

Awesome Foundation Calgary

These guys are just plain awesome. The Foundation exists to kick-start initiatives and projects in the community through $1000 grants every month, all you have to do is pitch your idea and convince them that your project is deserving. Last summer, Protospace was involved with Collaborative Projects YYC where the winners wanted to bring creative lighting to dark places through a community LED project where Protopians taught soldering under a bridge in the middle of the night. Your idea might become the next winner, but you’ll never know until you give it a shot!

Calgary 2012

Do you think our city needs more culture? If so, you’re not alone. Calgary has been named the Cultural Capital of Canada for the year of 2012, which means that the whole city is mobilizing to facilitate cultural and creative initiatives and events. Through the city and the federal government, we have access to grant opportunities that range from $2,000 to $20,000 to fund cultural projects and events throughout the year. The final deadline is March 12, 2012, so get your ideas developed before it’s too late!

Startup Calgary

I’ve had a few business ideas on the back burner for years now, but I’ve yet to execute on them. For those that want to take the leap, Startup Calgary is an ideal community for learning what it means to set your own destiny. I’ve gone to a few events put on by Startup Calgary and have always left inspired. The startup crowd has recently acquired a space in Inglewood which has been appropriately named AcceleratorYYC. Office and meeting space can be rented in this collaborative environment and events and workshops are great opportunities to be inspired or hash out a business plan or two.

Backyard Inventors

Not everyone wants to be on TV, especially the majority of us nerdy types. Be brave, Backyard Inventors is a Canadian TV show backed by Doug Hall (Eureka Ranch) showcasing creators and tinkerers that have produced something original and innovative. If you have ever made something with your hands to solve a problem where there was no solution, you should be on this show. I was contacted by one of the producers of the show who let me know that they are filming right now and need more inventors (especially women inventors). The application for the show is found here, so apply now!

Tesseractive Overdrive

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:28:55 +0000

We were going to write up a big post that summarized a big project we did last week, but it looks like one of our own members already made an awesome blog post detailing the entire build process! Check out the link below for the full story!

>> Faby & Kirk’s Tesseract Project <<

The project was created for East Village, who asked us to add something nerdy for their huge Christmas tree. I was afraid that the project wasn’t going to get done as I had a lot less time to commit to the project then I originally intended, but Faby & Kirk took point and got ‘er done! They picked up the materials, designed the structure and spent countless hours meticulously piecing the work of art together. Their sleepless nights paid off – The folks at East Village loved it, and it should stay up near the Simmons Building by the River Walk for at least another week or two!

In addition, this weekend marked the first annual Holiday Gift Market in East Village. This was hosted by the CMLC in the Simmons Building, comprised of a few dozen tables for makers, crafters, artists and designers to peddle their wares. Protospace was invited because we are working with the CMLC to put on Calgary’s First Annual Maker Faire in June 2011 in East Village, and the Tesseract was an additional accomplishment that we are extremely proud of. It was advertised that Protospace would be bringing robots to the event, so we brought our Brian’s Eggbot & Rapman and our near-complete Drinkbot. Because our toys were so different from the rest of the vendors, we had swarms of people around our table all day! Our only snag was that we ran out of business cards in the first hour, so we only had stickers to give to prospective members

A big thanks to everyone else who volunteered their time during the Holiday Gift Market! We also thank Erin Darroch who did a fantastic job in organizing the whole event! I can’t wait until June when we get to host the First Annual Maker Faire in the hippest neighbourhood of Calgary!

Faby, who is also our resident photographer, took all these great pictures for us. You can see more on our flickr stream.

Over the holidays, we’ve had a couple of really successful projects that have pulled together our members, so keep up the great work!

Oh, and we just got 5000 shiny new business cards!

Small Victories

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:25:13 +0000

Today was our first Tuesday hang out / meeting at the new space, and I’d like to think it was a success! We had around 25 people at the space, in which around 5 or 6 were new or potential members that have never been to Protospace before.

In addition to the new faces, we had a couch and some building material donated to us by a member named Simon, for that we are grateful! Travis has also been had at work in the space, making us three new work tables for the multipurpose area. Thanks Travis!

Tonight, I spent most of the time socializing with the new faces, learning why they were interested and determining what Protospace could be for them. To introduce the potential members to the new Protospace atmosphere, I put everyone that was idle to work building some more shelves with the newly donated materials. Curiously, it was the new members that have never worked together that built the shelves, not the old members.

You may not be aware, but Protospace is entirely member driven – existing only through membership dues and donations. The directors don’t get paid and often pay more than members to keep the organization afloat. I’ve spent nearly $1000 of my own money over the last month on marketing and materials for Protospace because I know it will be worth it in the end. I only have so much cash I can pour into Protospace and our cash reserves for sustaining the space are extremely low. Monthly operating costs at our space is about $2200 per month which includes utilities and internet. Our cash flow is far below the $2200 / month mark, thus Protospace will soon require a large member influx to be able to deal with our monthly expenses.

Protospace is a multi-purpose, multi-discipline environment that gives its members a space and community to work and play in. I know that some may use the space as a lounge while others use it as a workshop. Because I’m an efficiency and productivity whore, I’d rather the latter than the former but I also realize that a community evolves over time. I hope to influence that evolution by promoting group projects, starting joint initiatives and inspire others to dream big. That’s why I’m glad we have an industrial space now with lots of room for tools and projects – our big dreams can now come true!

I love the Maker movement. To create something with one’s own hands is such a fulfilling action that is often forgotten in today’s digital society. Making, creating inventing, hacking – all serve to broaden our horizons, heighten our motor skills, engage our curiosity and challenge our own limits (that are often self-imposed). Whenever someone tells me that they “aren’t technical enough” for a hackerspace, they’re fooling themselves. You aren’t required to be a master in any skill to be a hacker or maker. You need only to bring your curiosity and desire to learn and the rest will fall in place.

Moved In

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:24:11 +0000

Just a quick gallery of our first day at the new space. Lots was done, shelves were built and stuff was moved!

To Do: Fix Makerbot, Laser Cutter & CNC Machine

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:23:35 +0000

Remember a few months ago when we were trying to determine what sort of “big ticket” tools we wanted to buy? It was a toss up between a CNC, a Laser cutter and a 3D printer. The laser cutter was the top requested tool, but a little out of our price range at $20,000+. The 3D printer is popular at many hackerspaces, but we decided to go with a CNC machine as it has a practical application. Thus, we started pooling resources between members in hopes to buy a Sherline CNC.

Lo and behold, we now have all three devices in our possession! A Makerbot Cupcake CNC 3D printer, a small MAXNC10 CNC mill and a 100W Laser! The Makerbot was brought in yesterday by a fine gentleman named Zac, who built the machine a year or so ago but doesn’t use it often these days. It needs a few tweaks to get it operational, but will work once we get some plastic for it. The MAXNC10 mill was brought in a few weeks ago by Brian and was configured by Colin, but we’ve since re-imaged the host computer and haven’t had time to reconfigure the device. The Laser cutter is huge – 4′ x 3′ cutting area with a 100W tube! This guy is able to cut wood, plastic, granite, paper, cardboard – pretty much everything except metal (because it disperses heat too fast). Unfortunately, this machine was subjected to a nasty internal fire that fried some of the belts and control circuitry, so we can’t use it yet. Brian is loaning Protospace this sexy beast for at least six months on the condition that we help him fix it, and fix it we will!

The MAXNC10 CNC machine is an older and smaller CNC mill, but still can be useful for creating small or accurate parts & designs. Right now, it sits beside a newly installed Windows 7 32bit machine that has the Mach3 software installed but not configured. We need someone to sit down at the bench and load the proper config files to allow the PC to talk to the CNC. Simple stuff, just takes a bit of reading.

As previously stated, a damaged 100W laser cutter with a 4′ x 3′ cutting area. An internal fire burned through the two belts that move the cutting head, as well as a few wires and buttons that turn the machine on and off. We’ve already replaced the charred glass and the hydraulic arms on the lid, but we are waiting for the remaining parts to arrive in the mail. Once we have the parts, we plan to have a 6-10 weekend repairathon, hopefully on Sunday, Nov 27th or Dec 4th.

Just got this yesterday, can’t wait to see it in service! It’s the Cupcake CNC with a Plastruder MK3 print head and has a RepRap v1.2 mobo, but I haven’t had time to plug it in yet. It will need a few tweaks and finely tuned adjustments before plastruding prototypes, and probably some plastic too. Don’t think we have any of that…So bottom line is – we have achieved our trifecta of awesome makerspace tools, but they all need a little TLC before we see them in operation.

So come down to Protospace to get your fix on!

Workshops

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:21:36 +0000

We have a variety of workshops that we try to put on during the course of the year

Coming Soon:

Silvering Glass
Aluminum Casting
Introductory Soldering
Basic Electronics
Make Your Own Demonic Garden Gnomes
Make Your Own Model Rocket Engines
Make Your Own Beer Mug

At the present, workshops and educational talks are determined by interest. Please feel out the form below for further information and for the forthcoming workshop schedule.
[contact-form-7]

We’re Growing, But We Need Some Help

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:20:21 +0000

It was bold move for us; leaving that wee space on McLeaod Trail & Tenth and finding a huge industrial space to give us room to grow. And it’s paid off! The transformation we’ve undergone in the last six months has been phenomenal. From a very cool but tiny heritage building where running the microwave when somebody was soldering was enough to blow a circuit, a place where members gathered mostly just on Tuesdays working on their laptops or small kits, talking about all the cool stuff we’d like to be doing; to a 2,300 sq ft industrial space tricked out with power tools and the room (and zoning) to do some really cool stuff (like melting aluminum!). A place abuzz with activity any time you walk in the door – our Tuesday nights are now so busy talking to new people excited and curious about the space, as well as artists and organizers plotting cool things to do with Protospace, that members are coming together every other day of the week to get our projects done.

And we’ve done some cool stuff with some cool people. We just finished a 100% hacked, interactive LED arduino driven tree sculpture for Holipalooza’s silent auction. We’ve collaborated with the very fun Choose yer Own event organizers, hosted Dorkbot for a great open house and evening of lectures, we’ve worked with Endeavor Arts, Light Up The World and Victoria Park BRZ for Make:Art events where people learned how to make their own LED decorations. We had a great Hack Halloween event where people joined us for a night of electronic music and a chance to add electronics to their costumes. And our annual Butterman celebration was, well, simply EPIC!

Our move has been a huge success, with one small hitch. Under the “build it and they will come” mentality, we’ve created a space, and are thrilled to see our membership grow as a result. The trick is, or membership growth hasn’t yet caught up to our burn rate as we use up our savings covering monthly costs and our growing need for materials. It’s crunch time, we’re going to need an infusion of cash to carry through into 2012 while we chase down some grants and get our membership up to sustainable numbers.

You Can Help!

If you don’t feel the need to be a full member for space access, or to be an official “friend” of Protospace to be a part of our online community, but still think we do something valuable for Calgary and want to see us succeed, please donate! There’s a paypal button at the bottom of the membership page, or even better come down on a Tuesday night to join in the fun, and leave a donation with one of our directors. Every little bit helps; if everybody following us on twitter gave us $10 we’d be set well into the new year.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a member or a friend, but haven’t got around to it yet, now’s the time! Your commitment to the organization adds not just cash, but the ideas, enthusiasm, and experience we need to continue to take on these amazing projects. If you’re already a friend, think about becoming a member; you’ve seen all the cool stuff we’ve been talking about online, you know you wanna come down to the space and actually help build it …’cmon, I know you do!

If you’re already a member/friend consider paying your dues in advance (it gets you a discount!) and gives us the cash infusion we need now to carry us through ’til our membership numbers can fully support us. Or, you could make a one time, top-up donation just ’cause you love us. We’re getting bolder and taking on increasingly more complex/creative/crazy projects, and those cost money, you cash helps manifest those dreams.

If your company is looking for somewhere to spend those community engagement dollars by the end of the year – think of us! We’re a registered non-profit, and sure need the help right now. Or, if you’re dreading Christmas shopping, how about making a donation to Protospace in lieu of gifts this year? Give your loved ones some hacker cred and karma points all in one donation. A gift that gives twice, well three times if you count it as: cred, karma, and cash.

As we’re also applying for grants, demonstrating our value to the community, our unique contribution of tech literacy and the geeky way we support the arts, is really important for us. So filling the comment field below with testimonials on why Protospace matters to you would be as good as gold (and nearly as good as that cashy-money we be needin’).

There are lots of ways you can help, so pick one …and pass it on! Tweet us, facebook us, post us to your lists. Tell everybody how amazing you think Protospace is, and how much you want to see us continue to provide the sorts of innovative, tech minded, community driven projects and events only a hackerspace/makerspace can.

And thank you all so much for everything you’ve done to get us this far. Your support then, and now, make you a huge part of Protospace – in a totally metaphorical, and not even remotely soylent green sort of way!

Hacker and Cyber Criminal are NOT Synonyms

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:19:17 +0000

When your Facebook account or email gets hacked (proper use of the verb) it wasn’t a hacker who did it, it was a criminal. Hacking is a skill, a tool, like a chainsaw. If you use said chainsaw to take down a rotting tree before it falls on somebody’s house you are benevolent neighbourhood hero, if you do it to dismember a body you are Very Very Naughty. It isn’t about the chainsaw, it’s about the human who picks up that tool and decides what to do with it.

We all have skills, we all have choices, what we do with those skills is up to us. Not all hackers are committing crimes, just as not all locksmiths are burglars. Every time I tell people I’ve become a director of the local hackerspace here in Calgary I have to follow by explaining it’s not the same as becoming a mafia don. I didn’t have to kill a rival to get this position (though I did have to learn how to solder and start using IRC). We are not some evil cyber crime think tank; we are a group of people who are deeply curious, very playful, take great joy in taking something apart to see how it works and how we can make it better or do something else with it. We live and breathe on the internet, it is our work, our entertainment, our social connections, the tool we use to leverage our lives.

We are not criminals, the majority of us are innovative social thinkers as well as tech geeks. We want to make the word a better place (all that talk of world domination is for good, not evil – we swear!). Hackers move fluidly in a realm that touches all our lives, a realm most people don’t really understand. I can program a VCR, but don’t ask me how it works. It’s the same with computers, we all use them, we’re all connected by them, they are integral to our lives (as you’ll notice any time yours crashes). When we get a virus or our email is hacked, it has a huge impact on us and we don’t understand what happened we just know it’s upsetting and scary. So we blame “hackers” because they know all about that stuff, so one of them probably did it.

And that’s a crass generalization. We’re working hard in the hacker community to differentiate “hackers” and “crackers.” Those white-hatters who are using their skills for good or benign activities and crackers – those black-hatters those cyber-criminals who are stealing private data, committing fraud, and generally being Decidedly Not Nice. Most hackers are advocates for the public, the first line of defence when things on the internet threatening our rights or our privacy. Hackers do know about “that stuff” and most of the time they are more concerned with the risks of crime associated with it than you are.

The media gives us a bad rap, not when they report about someone being hacked, but when they start using the noun “hacker” to refer to the person who did it. We need to get a new entry into the Associated Press Style Book clarifying: hack, hacked, hacker, cracker, and outright cyber criminal. The words are absolutely not interchangeable. Journalists are literary and literal people, they know their words, we’ve just got to help them get these words right.